The Witches of Monterey
by Ashley Patroclus
Summary: A stunning group of boys find out that their lineage is more special than they ever dreamed. New faces, old friends and an entirely new saga await the Witches of Monterey. Queer themes and will get slash-y. Reviews highly appreciated. Info on my profile
1. Chapter 1

The sun had shown in the window, just at the right angle to hit Bryce in his eyes. With his eyes squinting he had difficulty adjusting to the harshness of reality. As he struggled to gain focus over his senses again, the heat of the summer had all but overwhelmed him. Kicking the covers off him, he let his left hand glide across his abs, feeling a slick glossy coat that had developed from the heat. Bryce had propped himself up, moving his legs to the side of the bed. Rubbing his hands in his eyes, he stretched his legs outward as if to push the sleep from his body.

Walking over to the window, Bryce had pushed his fingers between the blinds forcing them open to allow his eyes to take a peek at the passing mailman. The post came fairly early in the morning, the latest Bryce had ever received it was by ten. Bryce liked to shower in the evening so he could sleep in later in the morning. The pile on the ground was growing larger; with so many hours at his job he hardly found time to take care of his responsibilities anymore. On the nightstand, his cell phone sat glowing with a message indicator. Seven new texts from his various interests. It wasn't uncommon for him to have this many and he usually answered them by the morning's end. All the admirers were boring though. Nothing excited him like it used to. His life had grown all but mundane; the same clubs, the same routine, the same people. He grew comfortable in his complacency

Bryce rifled through the pile of dirty clothes for a pair of work clothes that seemed presentable and put them on. He hated the way Khaki pants looked on him, but it was work and while he was at Cal State he wasn't going to turn down a good job. The summer was busy so he elected for online courses, which let him have more flexibility with his schedule. The commute around Carmel was so terrible that going to class and going to work straight after would've been a nightmare. As he placed his feet through the already worn Khaki's, he checked himself in the full length mirror positioned in the corner. They seemed acceptable; few creases, no coffee stains. Over on his dresser laid his wallet, which he quickly placed in his pocket before going to the nightstand and grabbing his cell phone again. Bryce walked over to the closet on the other side of the room, pulling out one of the many Polo's that had lined the top row. With his hand slowly picking through the rainbow assortment, he vied for darker colors to contrast with his fair skin and blonde hair. Today, an navy color to compliment his stunning ice blue eyes.

As he pulled the shirt over his head and broad shoulders he walked to the bathroom, across the hallway. Bryce looked at the reflection in the mirror, hardly recognizing the image within it. After his father fell ill a few months ago it was as if the innocence was taken from him. Bryce never knew his mother and without any siblings, he was the one taking care of his father's affairs along with his own. The partying had died down and his grades were suffering. At times Bryce felt stretched so thin that he could do nothing but weep. Living in this apartment by the water was enough to escape to for awhile, but he could never be away from his father for too long in case an emergency arose.

Bryce opened the cabinet, stretching his arm outwards he grabbed a small pill bottle residing on the second shelf. Across the label was Bryce's doctor, the same as his father's. Paid ridiculous amounts of money just to write prescriptions for every little problem that arose. The label also read, "Restoril", used for the tightness in Bryce's chest for when his problems seemed to overtake him. The prescription came after his father collapsed the first time. It was difficult for Bryce to negotiate the possibility that he was loosing the only family he had. After swallowing the two diamond shaped pills he reached back into the cabinet for the tube of hair gel. The fluid glided across his hands easily and he put it in his hair, making sure to distribute it evenly and place each hair perfectly.

After brushing his teeth he walked into the living room, which was connected openly to the kitchen. The design was probably to save space and make the living areas more functional. It wasn't even afternoon yet and the heat was already overwhelming. Money was a bit tight, his father, as much as he loved him, kept his fortune to himself. The air conditioning was rarely on because of the tight constraint on his wallet and it was showing as he grabbed his shirt and fluffed it against his chest to cool himself. The keys to his car were on a hook hanging before the door. After slipping on his favorite pair of converse he grabbed them and motioned for the door.

As he grabbed the doorknob, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Bryce fumbled through his pockets trying to find the source; his cell phone. Grasping it, he did a motion that he practiced numerous times a day, flipping it open as he brought it to his face. The number had come up so many times that he felt compelled to program it in his phone.

"Doctor Pavel, Hi, what's going on?," he asked as he motioned towards the door again, stepping into the sunlight. Bryce felt the full impact of the heat now that his tiny town apartment was no longer shielding him from the onslaught of the sun.

"Um, Mr. Rayhill, your father's condition seems to be getting worse," the gravelly voice on the other side of the receiver had all but become second nature to him, "I'm not sure how much longer he can hold on."

Bryce had this conversation numerous times, it didn't phase him much anymore, "Ok, so what can I do now?"

"Well, you already took care of his affairs when he first collapsed, should he pass, we'll just need you to come down to the hospital to sign the release papers," his cold tone irritated Bryce as he walked down the sidewalk to his vehicle; just because the doctor dealt with death hundreds of times a year didn't mean that he had.

Bryce fingered the keys to open the lock on his vehicle, "And do you expect that to happen?"

"We're not sure what's going to happen at this point," the voice responded, calculated and cold, "we just needed to inform you of his condition."

"Thanks," the tone in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the doctor as he slammed his cell phone shut and climbed into his car.

Bryce sat, staring at the steering wheel. It was impossible to hold his composure; he buried his head within his hands and sobbed. What twenty-two year old has to take care of these affairs? The cries were muffled by his hands, yet the noise was haunting and loud. It took a few moments for him to gain his composure. After wiping the tears from his eyes, he reached his hand forward and turned the key in the ignition.

The traffic was awful, as usual and Bryce was glad that he left early. It was amazing how long it took to get to work, considering he didn't live that far from it. An iPod was plugged directly into his car, playing an unknown indie rock band. The music pulsed through him using the vibrations in his steering wheel. Bryce had pulled up to his work, late as usual. The back door entrance was open to let the heat of the kitchen escape into the air outside. Storming in, he quickly threw on an apron that had been hanging on a hook by the door and clocked in.

"You're late," a voice from behind him chimed as he turned around to meet the voice, "C'mon, Bryce, I really like you, don't give me a reason to fire you."

Bryce's eyes locked with the girl across from him. She was shorter than him by almost a foot, which, even though he stood six foot tall, was still short by any normal means. Her beautiful brunette hair was pulled tightly back in a bun and her green eyes were locked on him, making him nervous, "I'm sorry Tara, I'll stay after my shift to make up for it"

"Yeah, yeah, get out there," she said, repeating their daily routine, before smacking him on the butt on his way out to the front, "And tell Dylan that he can go now that you're here."

* * *

The clanking of silverware could be heard throughout the café. Hustling waitresses took notice of empty cups while securing tips and bussing tables. The Corkscrew was a small establishment in the otherwise large world of Carmel. It was where the boys often came to have breakfast when they needed to have a serious conversation with each other. In the center of the café, they sat across from each other; heads buried in their menus even though they had visited so many times that they had it memorized anyway. The man on the left was noticeably older; he had closed his menu and put it on the table. The younger was still reading, as if to decipher a complex lost language.

"Have you decided yet, looks like the waiter is coming back around. I think he's getting impatient."

The younger had placed his menu down on the table, "Yah, I guess."

A young brunette had walked up to the table; he was charming and very good looking. "Hi, are you ready to order? I'm sorry to press but we're swamped."

Blake, the eldest, felt his gaze linger on the waiter. Brushing his hand across his day old stubble, he forced himself to lock eyes with the young man, "I think we're ready,"

The waiter had taken out his pen and notepad, ready to scribble the order across its surface. As Blake had opened his mouth to order, he noticed a tall blonde walking over to the table. The blonde had whispered into the waiter's ear and the waiter nodded acknowledging what he was saying. The youngest looked at him, mesmerized. A strange magnetism drew him to the new waiter. As if something was pulling his attention towards him.

"Well, um, look's like my friend Bryce will be taking over my tables. You're in good hands," said the waiter as he begun unfastening his apron. "Have a good day"

As the waiter walked away, Blake held his hand up with his index finger pointed to the sky, "But, uh, UH," but it was too late, the waiter couldn't hear him over the bustle of the Café.

The younger laughed, "Looks like you missed your chance, Blake. Better luck next time."

Blake shot the boy a nasty look, "Shut up, Brett," he snorted, turning to Bryce, "Your friend, what's the story on him?"

"Who? Oh, Dylan?," Bryce inquired, "Um, he's pretty chill, but he's got someone already, sorry."

Blake's face had turned, as if he had swallowed a sour candy. Brett turned slightly, so that his gaze met with Bryce's, "and what about you?"

Brett could notice his face flushing; a slight pink tint was all but noticeable on Bryce's fair skin. "Um, are you ready to order?"

Blake smiled, seeing his brother get shot down, "Yes, I'll take the Club BLT with the house soup and can I get a side of horseradish?"

Bryce nodded, turning on his heel to face Brett, "And for you?"

"The chicken fajita wrap with French fries, please", he smiled, "And perhaps a time I can meet you for drinks?"

Blake laughed, "He's joking, see, he's not even 21 yet. Sorry to disturb you."

"Your order should be up in a bit," Bryce said, walking away. Brett waited for the waiter to get out of earshot before turning his head fiercely.

"You didn't have to do that, jerk," he said, dejected.

"What? He's not even your type."

"So? I wanted to get to know him." Brett countered.

Blake shook off the argument; he knew that Brett wasn't too serious otherwise they would've started lobbing insults by now, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Brett's playful demeanor had changed. He took a sip from his water, "I think Mom is in trouble,"

Blake leaned in, "What? Why?"

Blake was left out of the loop more and more these days. Ever since he graduated college his life has seemed so busy and he hardly had time to keep up with his family. Blake and Brett would text each other but his mom was technologically incompetent. When the boys did text each other, it was always about a cute barista or if Brett could borrow money or stay over. Their mother was usually pretty level headed so upon hearing that his mom might be in trouble worried Blake, it had to be something big to make Brett request a lunch date to discuss it.

"Mom has been getting these strange phone calls. At first they didn't seem like a big deal," Brett said, looking down at the glass of water cupped within his hands, "But they started coming in at all times of the night."

"Well, who was it? Do you know?"

Brett shook his head, "No, the caller ID on the house phone didn't recognize it."

"So what makes you think that Mom's in trouble?"

"Well, she would always get really upset, you know? And soon she started crying when she got off the phone and she would always be yelling"

"That still doesn't ex-"

"I know, but last night was different. Mom came to my room and said I should stay with you for awhile"

Blake raised an eyebrow, "That's strange, she didn't mention anything to me"

"Yeah, and she wouldn't tell me why. I said it would be hard pressing to have you give up space for no reason"

Blake made another sour face, "You know you're always welcome to stay with me, Brett"

"No, I know, it's just strange. You know? I'm worried."

"How about I go buy you something nice after lunch to take your mind off of things and we'll go talk to Mom afterwards?"

Brett laughed, "It would help take my mind off of things."

The boys sat for awhile, talking to each other. Blake inquired about how Brett was doing in school and Brett caught up on how Blake's job as a health crisis coordinator was going. The brothers had always been close growing up, despite their four year age difference. With Blake finally out of the house, it wasn't often that they got to catch up like this. Brett was always intimidated by his brother because he was so motivated and driven.

Brett was in his sophomore year in school and was still unsure of what degree he had hoped to pursue. Blake knew what he had wanted to do since he was a sophomore in high school and it was that drive that always made him the favorite in his mother's eyes. Brett knew that she favored Blake, although it never really bothered him. The brothers were treated equally in every respect; money, attention, but something still sat funny when it came to how his mother felt about both of them.

Blake looked up and noticed their waiting walking out with their tray, "Hey, Brett, it's your lover boy,"

Brett turned around and caught the waiter in his peripheral. Bryce made his way over to the table. "Club BLT, house soup and a side of horseradish," he placed one of the plates down on the table before grabbing the second plate, "And a chicken fajita wrap with fries,"

Bryce had placed the plate on the table leaning in such a way that he dropped his empty tray to the ground on accident.

"Here, let me get that for you," Brett said, leaning over to reach for the tray. As he came back up he motioned towards Bryce and as he passed it off, his hand grazed Bryce's.

A bright flash of light flooded Brett's head.

"_Doctor, blood pressure's dropping,"_

"_Grab the paddles and charge. Clear!"_

_The paddles were placed upon an older man. A loud popping noise was heard as his chest bounced into the air, lifeless_

"_Clear!", the doctor shouted again, applying pressure to the chest._

_The body bounced one more, showing no signs of resuscitating._

"…_We've lost him, call it, 11:24am"_

The image left Brett's head, forcing him to re-evaluate the situation. He panicked, grabbing onto the arms of his seat and forcing himself out of his chair, knocking the table with his knee accompanied a loud clanging from the dishes on the table. The people around him turned to the direction to see what the commotion was.

"Oh shit, oh my god," he said, his heart still racing.

Blake got up and walked over to him, Bryce standing there with a worried look, unsure of what to do.

Blake took hold of his brother by the shoulders and looked into his face, "Brett, look at me, what's wrong?"

Brett breathed heavily and looked Blake square in the eyes, "I don't know, I just saw something and I…"

"What do you mean you saw something?"

Bryce stared at the brothers, not sure of what happened, "Is there something I can get you?"

Brett shook his head, no longer drawn to Bryce. Instead he felt ill and his ears were ringing.

"Thank you," Blake said, "He should be ok, I think he's just light headed"

Bryce reluctantly retreated back to the kitchen, leaving the brothers standing at the table.

"Here, sit down," Blake said, pulling out the chair for him to sit on. Brett sat down still frazzled from the images that played in his head so fervently. Blake went back to his own seat and stared at his brother, unsure of what to make of the situation, "What was that about?"

Brett had one hand on his forehead, "I'm not sure…one second I was here and the next I was in a hospital room watching some guy die"

"What?" Blake inquired, with an alarm noticeable in his tone

Brett shook his head again, "I'm not sure what it was, I just know he died and the doctors couldn't resuscitate him"

"Are you ok? You collapsed when it happened"

"I feel ok, I just don't know what the hell that was about…"

"Was there anything else?"

Brett furrowed his brow in thought, "Come to think of it, the doctor did say the time… 11:24"

"Um," Blake said, looking at the watch attached to his wrist, "It's 11:40 now"

"What does that mean?"

Blake shrugged, "I'm not sure, honey"

The brothers sat there for awhile mustering up the strength to eat their food, unsure of what to say to each other. The food was difficult to eat for Brett, the image of the hospital was so strong in his mind still and it was severely hindering his normally bottomless stomach. Blake was unsure of how to act, as an older brother he was supposed to be able to solve these problems. This was so far outside the realm of what he had dealt with, however, so it left him feeling disappointed and without words to offer to Brett.

They had been so distracted by the thoughts swirling in their head, they didn't notice the young girl standing at the table, "Um, excuse me, is there anything I can get you?"

Brett looked up, looking at the girl, "What happened to Bryce?"

"Oh, um, something came up; I said I'd cover his tables."

Blake looked over at Brett, noticing his disappointment, "Just a couple boxes and our check, please"

The girl nodded and turned on her heel. Blake didn't break his gaze on his little brother. What was going on with his family? His mother taking strange phone calls, his brother seeing people die. Blake pushed it from his mind, "Hey, kiddo, let's go to the boardwalk. It'll take our minds off of whatever's going on"

Brett nodded mindlessly, "Sure"

The food had been boxed up and Blake had whipped out his wallet, using one of several cards to pay for the meal they had. It made him happy to pay for Brett and anyone, really, for that matter. Money was such a trivial thing to him, that if it made other people happy, he didn't see why he couldn't provide for his loved ones. Brett was distant, not saying much as the car ride had led them into mid-day traffic.

As they sat there, Blake looked over at Brett in the passengers' seat. He took his hand off the clutch and reached over to take hold of Brett's, "Hey, kiddo, try and cheer up, ok?"

Brett took his hand from his brother's, "I'll be fine,"

"Hey, don't act like that; I just don't like seeing you like this"

"Don't tell me how to feel, Blake, You didn't see what I saw, ok?"

"How do you even know what you saw was real?"

"I don't know, alright!?", his voice louder, drawing the attention of other cars nearby that had also come to a stop in their lanes. The topless Volkswagen they had been riding in gave the surrounding cars the perfect seat to listen to the argument, "What I saw was real. It felt… real… and I don't know what to do."

Blake looked forward, "…I'm sorry, and I didn't mean to discredit what you were feeling. I'm just confused"

Brett had nodded his head with a tear falling down his cheek. The last time he had experienced someone dying was his father five years back and it was a memory he thought he had dealt with. The car ride was tense. Brett felt bad for yelling at his brother but the last day had really messed with him. When they finally negotiated parking downtown, they got out and started walking towards the shops. All of them were small and privately owned; which was part of the charm about this part of the city that kept the brothers returning.

Wandering in and out of the shops, the brothers found small things along the way that struck a chord. Brett had picked out a pair of Italian Loafers from Hedi's, a local shoe store. They were marked down to 170$ and Blake footed the bill. There was also a matching belt picked out at a different vendor and Blake had picked up a new Bluetooth for his phone. A wandering ice cream man had sold them two popsicles and Blake could see Brett's foul mood wavering along with his checkbook.

After perusing a couple more shops, the brother's had walked into Michael Sherman's, a jewelry store. The pieces were magnificent and the inlays were perfect. The jeweler took great care of their pieces. The rings and necklaces made their eyes light up with the same sparkle that had shown in the diamonds. There was a small section dedicated to exotic jewelry. Some was imported; some was fashion in the store. Blake could feel his body pulling him to it. Brett had peeled away from the necklaces on the far wall and had joined his brother.

A man had stepped from the back, he was older with glasses and white hair to compliment, "Hello, gentlemen, how's your day treating you?"

"Better now that we've had some time to relax," Blake had answered, "Are these your only pieces?"

"Well, no, we have more, what is it exactly that you're looking for?"

"We're not, I just love your pieces, and they're gorgeous."

The man chuckled, "Well, I got some new pieces in today that I just evaluated and haven't placed out in the display yet, would you like to see them?"

Blake looked over at Brett and saw him nod, "Yes, please, if it's not a hassle"

"Oh, no hassle," he replied, reaching below the case where the boys couldn't see. When he came back up, he had a tray of beautiful rings of various shapes and colors. Different inlays adorned them and all shimmered brilliantly under the display lights of the store. There was one ring, right in the middle that caught Brett's attention.

"Blake, can I see that one?" he pointed to a gold band inlaid with a round black object

"It's not my store," he chuckled, motioning to the storekeeper.

The jeweler grabbed the ring and handed it to Brett, "Here, it really is a beautiful piece. We imported it from Tahiti. It's inlaid with a rare Tahitian black pearl. There aren't many like it,"

Brett slipped it on his ring finger; it glided perfectly and rested between his knuckles comfortably.

"It's beautiful," Brett said, "How much is it?"

The jeweler frowned, "I'm sure it's a bit expensive for you kids, because of its rarity. Four thousand, eight hundred."

Brett's face turned, looking down at the beautiful piece on his finger. Brett slowly slipped it off his finger, "It's beautiful,"

Blake got that turning feeling in his stomach. The feeling that his brain and his heart were battling within him. One was losing, badly, "Wait,"

Brett looked over at him, Blake shook his head and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, "We'll take it"

Brett looked over at him, his face frozen with shock, "Oh my god, are you serious?"

Blake nodded, "You're not getting birthday or Christmas presents until you're 30"

Brett leaped onto his brother, giving him a ridiculously tight hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,"

Blake pushed Brett off of him, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, don't get mushy on me."

The jeweler had packaged the ring and rang the purchase on a card that Brett had only seen his brother use one other time, when he had bought his computer. They grabbed their bags and walked out to the boardwalk travelling towards their vehicle.

"Are you done depleting my checking account now?" Blake inquired

"Hey, technically, I didn't deplete it, you put it on plastic."

Blake punched him in the arm causing Brett to flinch. Brett then jumped on Blake's back trying to knock him off balance. The weight was easily supported with Blake's larger build and he carried his younger down the sidewalk, embarrassing him and foiling his attempts to exact revenge. They got to the car and Blake put his brother down so they could get in the car.

It was four in the afternoon, if they got on the freeway soon enough they could get to their mothers before rush hour hit. Blake had pumped up the volume on the radio and they both danced along to the beat as their car flew down the road towards their Mother's house. The events of the day seemed far from their minds, but as they got off the freeway, they realized they were going to confront her about one of the problems that had made them so upset earlier.

They took several back roads after pulling off the main drive. Their mom had lived in the same place their whole life. With their father gone for years and Blake out of the house, the manor had seemed huge for just two people. It wasn't until they pulled up to the house that they noticed another car that wasn't familiar in front of the driveway. The brothers weren't counting on company and figured it would just have to wait until they left.

Blake had popped the trunk letting Brett grab his bags and they made their way up the steps to the brown manor that stood before them. Brett shuffled his hands through his pockets trying to find the key to the front door. The bags were hindering his efforts as Blake pushed past him and simply opened the door, "You dork, Mom never locks the door if she's home."

Brett chuckled, embarrassed. He sat his bags on a side table that sat near the door.

"Mom?" he said loudly, trying to decipher where in the house she was. The boys walked past the entrance where the living room was and towards the back in the dining room, "Mom?"

No answer, perhaps she was on the phone or out of earshot. The boys walked through the dining room into the kitchen. On the marble island of the large kitchen sat a piece of paper. The boys walked over to it and Blake read it aloud.  "Dear boys, I'm sorry I can't make it, something very important came up. I'll be gone for a few days, I transferred some money into both of your accounts. I love you. Mom"

Brett turned his head towards Blake, his hands both palm facing down on the counter, "Why would she leave us money, how long is she going to be gone?"

"I'm not sure," Blake said, turning back to him, "but any time long enough to leave money can't be good."


	2. Chapter 2

Bryce awoke the next day in a daze. The events of the last week or so had put him into a strange mindset. His father had no friends that he could think of and his burial plans were already taken care of past the second day of his death. There was nothing left of his father but the small amount of possessions that he left behind. Bryce's father, Joel, had a small place before he became ill but had managed to sell it while he was still cognizant in the hospital. Joel had left a lot of money to his son and there were no other beneficiaries in his will.

But that didn't seem to matter to Bryce now, all he could do was numbly go to work, blindly go to class... stay occupied so he didn't feel anything. Whenever he wasn't occupied with responsibilities he went out, like tonight, to a club with his best friend Taylor. Taylor stood shorter than Bryce and was darker than him in both complexion and hair color. His eyes were just as light as Bryce's, making a stark contrast onto his caramel-like skin. The short hair on top of his head went in many directions, unruly as the starting point of curls could be. Taylor's smile was gorgeous and constantly on display. The music playing in the bar was upbeat and there were a few dozen people on the dance floor grinding into each other by their hips.

"You know what your problem is?" Taylor said with the right side of his face upturned into a grin.

Bryce raised an eyebrow, "No, what's that?"

"You're lonely. Your Dad has passed, you haven't got laid in awhile... I'm practically your only motherfucking friend..."

With his hand wrapped around his glass, he raised it and pointed his index finger at Taylor, "Well, that's because you're the only one that can put up with me Talyor"

"I don't think so kid, you're just out of your game. Who was the last person you were with?"

"Elizabeth"

Taylor threw his hands in the air, like he was praising a diety, "ELIZABETH!"

Bryce looked around quickly, as if the entire bar would turn to look at how raucous his companion was.

"And before Elizabeth?"

"Was Robby."

"So you're telling me, you haven't slept with anyone for almost a year?"

Bryce blushed, "Why does it matter? I don't need to sleep with someone to feel companionship, What about us?"

"We're soulmates," Taylor said grinning, "and soulmates don't need to sleep together"

"Amen to that!," Bryce said lifting his glass to clink to Taylor's

"Bartender!," Taylor said, pointing two fingers straight up, "Another round and two tequila shots!"

*** * ***

Brett was in the foyer with his pajamas draping off his slender body. The fire was going and he had a blanket strewn across his lap. Brett tilted his head a little to the right to shift the hair in his gaze from between him and his book. The book seemed to captivate him, unlike many books that had come across his way. It wasn't so much that Brett wasn't a reader, he was more of a snob when it came to literature. This book, about a young man who had fallen in love with a nymph, had captured him. Brett looked up to see his brother turn the corner with two mugs in his hand.

"Get your feet off the table," Blake said, gesturing a mug his brother's way.

Going from a reclining position to a sitting position he took the mug graciously and noticed an absurd amount of marshmallows in the cup.

"Thanks," he said, "where have you been all night?"

"I put in a couple more hours at work, my friend needed some help."

Brett smiled, "So you got stuck in office at 4:30 on a Friday and you got ambushed in the corner again?"

Blake laughed, "I wish I wasn't so obvious... Did mom call?"

Brett's smile faded. He shook his head, "What do you think happened?"

"I'm not sure, she's never done this before"

Brett stared at his brother and narrowed his eyes, "At least not for awhile..."

"Brett, that's not fair, that was before you were born, I hardly remember it"

"And Dad never got over it. Even when they got back together you could see something was wrong with him."

"Our parents aren't perfect, kiddo," Blake said emphatically "Look, she'll come back, we're just on edge, that's all"

Brett hesistated, and collected himself, "...I suppose you're right, I'm sorry."

"You know what would cure that," Blake smiled, "...hold on a second"

Brett closed the book he was reading and placed it on the table, he could hear his brother tinkering around in the kitchen. Taking the blanket and placing it on the back of the chair as he stood, he moved towards the kitchen. As he entered his brother had finished cutting a lime on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Brett asked with a quizzical look on his face.  "Shots. We definitely need one"

"Blake, I'm not twenty one yet"

Blake took the tequila from a cupboard above the refrigerator while shooting a nasty look towards his little brother. "How naive do you think I am?"

All Brett could do was smile. He strode across the kitchen and stood next to his brother who was now pouring generously into the shot glass. Brett poured salt onto his hand and picked the glass closest to him and raised it as his brother did.

"To brothers"

"I can drink to that," Blake smiled

As if in a synchronized competition, they took the salt with their tongues, threw the drink back quickly and bit into the lime. The fire barely reached down their esophogus when a flood of light poured into Brett's head

_"Thanks for taking me out Taylor, you're like an angel" _

_"If I didn't, who would?"_

_ The alleyway was dark leading out the back door of the club and the two boys seemed very intoxicated. As they walked from the back of the alley into a poorly lit street, they were confronted by four men. _

_"Hey faggots, You here all by yourself?" _

_The shorter boy in the pair put up his hands, "Hey man, we don't want any trouble" _

_"Well, you found it," and he threw a punch. _

Brett snapped his eyes open, gasping for air as if he hadn't took a breath in an hour.   "Oh my God," he shouted

Blake smiled, "Take it easy, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

Brett shook his head, "No, it's not that... I had some sort of vision..."

Blake's face twisted into one of concern, "What? Brett, you're starting to scare me."

"I'm not joking, I'm scared too, Blake"

After a brief pause, "What did you see?"

Placing his palm on his forehead, he opened his mouth, "I'm not sure, I think I saw two guys getting beat up. They were down this alley and they looked like they were drinking by the way they were walking. I couldn't tell, it looked like there was a sports bar across the way or something."

"...wait, was there a chinese restaurant across the street?"

"I'm not sure," he said shaking his head, "I wish I could help them"

"We're not even sure that it's real, what you're seeing"

"I know it's real, I can feel it. It's like they were punching me"

"A dark alley out of a club..."

Brett nodded.

"C'mon, let's go," Blake said, grabbing his keys off the wall, "I'd rather you be wrong than me"

* * *

The concrete felt cold and uninviting. It was harsh, just as the encounter he had before he woke up. Bryce groaned as he turned to look at Taylor who was still out cold. Bryce sat up slowly, clenching his eyes tightly as if it would dull the pain.

"Tay" he said weakly, "...Tay..."

A moan came in barely audible from Taylor, who was lying facedown on the concrete.

"C'mon, we gotta get home." Bryce got to his feet and walked the few paces to Taylor. An extended arm forward greeted Taylor's hand and helped pulled him to his feet. Bryce pulled Taylor's arm over his own shoulder and started walking forward.

"I thought," Taylor coughed, "I was supposed to be your guardian angel?"

"Well, now I guess I'm paying it back"

The cold air stung the areas that were hit, some of the places leaking blood. Bryce's mind was running, something his brain hadn't really stopped doing but now there was nothing to distract him. Taylor fell silent, something he rarely did and the events of the night weren't processing as they should. Bryce wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if it was his mind bouncing around everywhere but the pain was barely noticeable. As he looked up he couldn't discern the stars from the sky as the ambient glow from the cities skyline blotted out the shine of the stars. Bryce looked back and they had only passed three blocks, though it felt like a mile.

"...Bryce"

Bryce looked forward where Taylor's voice was coming from, four men stood in front of them. One of the men walked forward, "Hey fag, looks like we didn't do our job right."

"Leave us alone, you did what you needed to do." Taylor said with no power but full of conviction.

"Oh, no, I don't think so. See, you're still walking."

A croney behind the man in front called out, "Fuck him up, Samuel"

"God," Bryce said, "A name like Samuel and you're calling us fags?"

And all at once a flurry of noise as Samuel raced towards the two, Bryce lifted his hands to guard his face and braced for impact and closed his eyes. The impact didn't come, instead Bryce looked up and saw his attacker near his group, on the ground. Samuel looked up and stared at the boys in what looked like shock.

"What the hell are you?"

Bryce looked over to Taylor who still had his eyes shut, then back to the attacker, "What are you talking about?"

The group of men started to walk towards the pair again. Bryce backed slowly away with Taylor and they turned around to run, hearing the patter of foosteps behind them. Bryce didn't look back to see how close they were but he could hear that if they faltered even once, they would be attacked again. There was a terrible screeching noise behind them, to which Bryce and Taylor couldn't resist turning to see a convertible up on the sidewalk between them and the attackers, two striking boys in the front seat got out and walked to the other side with a baseball bat and a tire iron.

"Get the hell out of here if you know what's good for you," The tallest said

The men looked at the two saviors as if they were negotiating if it'd be worth it. All of them turned on their heels and walked away and turned down a corner out of sight. The two waited a moment before turning around, walking around the car and joining Bryce and Taylor

"Are you guys alright?" the shortest said, "Well, I mean, obviously you're not alright, but..."

"What my brother is trying to say, is 'Would you like a lift?'"

Bryce and Taylor looked at each other, "That's very nice," Bryce said, "but we live across town and you've already helped us as it is."

The shorter chimed in, "Well, stay with us for the night, we have a ton of extra room and we'll take you in the morning"

Bryce hesistated, "I... don't know about that"

Taylor elbowed him in the ribs, causing more pain to Bryce than he intended, "He's joking, it's very generous, thank you."

"I'm Brett", he said, extending his hand, with his other hand making a hitch hiking thumb point to his brother, "This is my older brother Blake"

"My name's Taylor and this is my not brother, Bryce", Taylor said, placing emphasis on the 'not' as he shook Brett's hand.

The four walked back to the car and made small talk on the drive home. Nothing too serious, not that Bryce was paying attention; Taylor was doing enough of that for the both of them. Bryce kept looking at the brothers like he had known them... they looked so familiar. But why? The rest of the night was uneventful aside from the obvious flirting that Taylor was laying on the youngest. When they pulled up to the house, which was two stories and imposing on it's street, Taylor couldn't help mentioning how great the neighborhood was and how the garden was kept so well. It continued inside with how clean it was and how modernly the house was decorated. Bryce didn't much agree but he didn't care. Blake, as if reading his mind, gave him a change of pajamas and a towel.

"It's the second door on your right when you get up the stairs," Blake said, "And the water line is switched so hot is cold and cold is hot."

Bryce made sure to turn it all the way to 'cold' as he craned his neck forward letting the water ease the pain with it's heat. He saw the breaths his abs drew as he inhaled the steam into his lungs. It was if not just the night was melting off his body but so was the rest of this terrible week. He wasn't sure who these people were but he knew that they had cared for him more than most in the last week. No knowledge of whom each other is, yet still willing to put themselves in danger to help. It felt good, that there were more good people out there than just his Father and Taylor. The shower pulled to a close and he stepped out, feeling the shocking cold tile beneath him. A towel was wrapped around his waste but it hung low on his hips as he walked across the hall to his guest room. Taylor had already jumped in the shower and was on the bed far sooner than he was.

"Jeez, you were in there for what seemed like ever," Taylor remarked, "needed to get a little more tension out than we thought?"

Bryce noted the sardonic tone in his voice, "Very funny, but no. Just thinking"

Bryce dropped his towel and put on his pajama pants. Being naked around Taylor wasn't really a big deal, they established a long time ago that nothing would happen between them, and since then it's always been very casual.

Bryce continued to put his clothes on as Taylor spoke, "About what?"

"Just how lucky we are that Brett and Blake were in the right spot at the right time," Bryce said, getting up to shut the door. Taylor turned off the side table light by the bed and could feel Bryce slide into the bed with him. Bryce came up behind Taylor and held him as they closed their eyes to sleep, "And how lucky I am to have someone that cares about me like you."

* * *

Blake knocked on the door frame of Brett's open room, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Brett was sitting up in his bed, reading the book he was trying to read earlier, "Of course,"

Blake walked in the room and shut the door behind him sitting on the bed perpendicular to Brett's body, "I'm sorry I doubted you I just...."

"I know," Brett interupted, "It's freaking me out too."

"But you were right, you very well could've saved their lives tonight."

"I just did what I felt was right, I'm glad that you supported me."

Blake looked Brett in the face, "Do you think we should say something to them?"

"Maybe," Brett said, "But not right away, we'll bring it up if it comes up."

"What worries me," Blake hesitated, "If this vision was real... wasn't the last one too?"

Brett looked like he had been slapped, "I think about it all the time"

"Don't," Blake cut him off, "You couldn't have done anything."

Brett lay there a moment and Blake got up, kissed his brother's forehead and walked back to the door frame to open it. Before he walked out he turned one last time to look at Brett, "I'm very proud of you and what we did tonight."

Blake shut the door behind him and Brett turned off the lamp by his bedside. The darkness covered the room and provided a respite from the evenings tumultuous journey, yet he couldn't bring himself to stray his thoughts from the boy across the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Taylor was still on his pillow when Bryce was pulling on his pants. The prospect of taking a bus across town wasn't exciting to him but he had to open the cafe with Tara in less than an hour. Striding across the floor, Bryce fussed his hair with his palms before finding his reflection in the mirror. After adjusting the top button, he pulled down on the bottom of his shirt in a futile attempt to get rid of the wrinkles. Bryce turned quietly, walked out of the room and down the hallway; he would've awoken Taylor but it was made very obvious, the night before, how he felt about Brett. Bryce hooked his shoes onto his fingers so he could gently tip-toe down the hallway and then the stairs. The floorboards beneath him creaked as if to summon the other housemates to his position. Upon reaching the ground level, Bryce turned left to go into kitchen. Feeling like a burden was something that he struggled with. It was something that came to him even now as he reached into his left pocket. Bryce extracted his wallet as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen.

"Hey," Blake said, looking up from his newspaper

Drawing out the 's' and covering his heart, Bryce shouted, "SSSSHIT!"  Blake was laughing as quietly as he could as he put his finger to his lips, "Ssshhh, My brother is still sleeping"

"I'm sorry," Bryce said chuckling, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be up this early."

"It's somewhat of a habit for me because of work"

Bryce walked over and sat on a stool, putting on his shoes, "What do you do for work?"

"Oh," he said, standing and moving over to the coffeemaker, "I'm a judge for juvenile court"

Bryce stared blank faced at Blake, as if he just announced he was the Governor or a Senator with just as much nonchalance, "You're not very old to be a judge. Color me intimidated."

"Oh, well, I entered university as a junior because of community college," Blake admonished, pouring coffee into a newly retrieved glass, "I got accepted into an accelerated Master's program at twenty and was done by twenty-two."

Bryce felt his ears burning red, though he wasn't sure if it was jealousy or if he was upset at himself for not having the same drive. Bryce finished tying his shoes as Blake gave him the coffee cup he was preparing.

"Thank you," said Bryce, pushing the cup away with his palm, "But I must get going, I have to get to work"

"Well, that's ok," Blake said, motioning for the keys on the counter, "Here, I'll drive you"  Bryce shook his head, "You don't have to do that."

Blake put up his hand, "No, I insist."

"What about Taylor? He's still sleeping."

"That's alright, Let him sleep."

Bryce could tell that Blake wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer and the blood had begun to flow back to his ears with irritation. The only person he ever needed was his father and now that he wasn't around, he didn't need anyone else. Bryce sat there a moment staring at Blake, as if deciphering a hidden agenda but couldn't find one. The hesitation in his heart outweighed his brains ability to make him feel guilty for passing up his offer.

"Fine," Bryce lamented, "But I insist you take this for gas"

Blake smiled as he saw Bryce take a ten out of his wallet. Bryce could see Blake was reluctant to take it, which only made him place his hand further across the marble island.

"Let's go, then," Blake surrendered, "after you."

Blake and Bryce left the kitchen, went down the hall and out the front door.

* * *

Blake was unsure what to make of the man sitting next to him. Blake laughed in his own mind. 'Man', he thought, 'he looks like a child'. Bryce had been distant since they met. It wasn't that it was odd, for this stranger to not trust him... But why? Was it because Blake hadn't earned his trust, despite the attacks? Was it the attacks themselves? Or maybe there was something else going on with him that he wasn't saying. Lord knows him and Brett were going through enough; Blake had all but moved back home since his mother was gone. The thought of Brett by himself still bothered him for a reason he hadn't quite put his finger on. And where had his mother been this entire time? Without a call or any indicator that she was O.K.?

"You'll want to make a left up here," Bryce said.

"Oh," Blake said, Bryce's voice snapping him back to reality, "Right, where are we going exactly?"

"The Corkscrew," he replied, "It's off of West Carmel"

A flash went through Blake's brain. It had been driving him nuts, where he had seen this kid before. Brett had brought it up too, they knew he looked familiar, "You work at the Cafe?"

"Yes, you know it?"

"I think you just served me and my brother a little while ago," Blake said, "My brother was kind of hitting on you."

Bryce looked over at Blake, despite Blake not being able to look back, "Wait, are you sure?"

Blake nodded his head, "Yeah, you ducked out halfway out. Did something come up?"

A noticeable pause seemed to fill the car. Blake wasn't sure if he was going to get the real answer but he was sure that he wouldn't like it. The pause was becoming uncouth and as they came to a red light Blake decided to steer it in a different direction to save the rest of the car ride.

"How long have you been working there?"

"A little over two years now," Bryce said, "God... I've been there forever."

"Well," Blake responded, reaching at straws for a reasonable answer, "Continuity is good, you know?"

"Said the judge, what are you? Like, twenty-three?", the despondence in his voice felt like a punch to the gut.

"I'm twenty-four," Blake said defensively. The light turned green and the car seemed to all but jet out of its lane. Blake's foot had seemed to put a ton of weight onto the gas on its own accord, "I hardly see what that has to do with anything."

"You wouldn't," vitriol was pouring from Bryce's mouth and Blake couldn't figure out why.

Eyeing a large open area of curb, Blake jerked the steering wheel to the right. Maneuvering the car close to the curb, Blake turned the car off and shifted in his seat to face Bryce, "What the hell is your problem? My brother and I go out on a limb for you and then you act like this?"

"Don't talk to me like you know me, you don't know anything about me"

"What are you talking about?"  Bryce quickly unfastened his belt, unlocked the car and opened the door.

The blinding speed at which Bryce exited the car left Blake in a daze, "Hey, where the hell are you going?"

Blake opened his door and tried to step out, only to be impeded by his seatbelt.   "God damn IT," he yelled, unbuckling his seatbelt. Once again he stepped out onto the street, then walked in front of his vehicle and over to the sidewalk, "I'm talking to you."

Blake was trying to close the noticeable gap that had formed, Bryce shouted back to him, "I don't give a damn, what you're doing, leave me alone."

Blake was close enough to reach out for Bryce's shoulder, "Hey," he said, grabbing his arm.  Bryce turned, lifting his arm while turning to face Blake, "I said, leave me alone."

The next thing Blake knew he was on the ground a sizeable distance away from Bryce. As he sat up, he noticed the look of horror that seemed to crawl across Bryce's face. Blake could barely discern what happened as he saw the young man turn and run down the street. Blake felt compelled to chase after him but knew there wasn't a lot he could now. Calmly, he got up and brushed himself off. All he could do now is get home and let Taylor know that something was up.

* * *

Brett was fiddling with the leftover coffee. The pajama pants he was wearing hung low on his hips, the morning air felt cool on his chest. Despite getting a full nights sleep last night, he still felt exhausted. The course of events was, needless to say, taxing both emotionally and physically. Blake had made a point of bringing up the old vision he had on purpose. Predicting what happened last night scared them both. It was likely that Blake was more worried because he wasn't used to not having things under control. But the last week had really changed that. It wasn't a bad thing to have Blake around more; it was easier to see him this way. Brett had forgotten how nice it was to have his brother in the house.

Brett took his cup of coffee and went back to the stairs, he could hear the water running in the bathroom. Tiptoeing up the stairs, Brett rounded the corner and peeked in on Taylor, who was brushing his teeth. Brett took notice of his back, it was bruised but very muscular. Taylor bent down to spit, when he noticed Brett in the reflection of the mirror. Brett turned and placed his back on the wall, praying he hadn't been spotted.   Taylor opened the door, still brushing his teeth, and walked out into the hallway, "Do you spy on everyone you know, or just the people you hardly know?"

A smile crept across Brett's face, "Sorry, I, uhm," Brett looked to his right, down, then back up to Taylor again, "Coffee?"

Taylor merely pointed to the fact he was brushing his teeth before turning around to go back into the bathroom. The door was left open so Brett took it and ran with it, "So, what are you up to today?"

Taylor spit and put the toothbrush in his pocket. Brett hadn't noticed he was already dressed, as he pulled his shirt out of his jeans and threw it over his body, "Well, I gotta get home and get some homework done for class and my best friend is worried sick about me after I texted her last night, so I'll probably head over to her house."

"Well, come downstairs first and get some food, I'm not sure where my brother is but he should be home soon. He'll take you"

"Nah," Taylor said, "I really should get going, it's already ten-thirty"

Brett lamented, "Really? Not even a tiny little orange or glass of milk?"

Taylor smiled and shook his head, walking past Brett. The kitchen had bright sunbeams crawling over the floor with the morning light. Brett went and grabbed an orange from the fridges bottom shelf and tossed it to Taylor on the other side of the marble island. Taylor looked down at his fruit and began to peel as Brett leaned back and placed his palms on the counter, making his torso stretch tight with muscles. When Taylor looked up, he caught himself staring and so had Brett.

"Do you stare at everyone you know," Brett said with a flirtatious step in his voice, "or just shirtless guys that have saved your butt?"

Taylor looked back down at his fruit, as if he hadn't been sold out by his carelessness. Brett stared at his strong jawline, it was growing in stubble fairly evenly, unlike his, which seemed to grow as sparse as dandelions in a field. Yet another thing he envied about his brother, Blake. Blake could grow in facial hair smoothly and evenly. Brett always felt as if he was cursed to looking fifteen his whole life. Brett turned to the sink behind him and put his coffee cup in it; the water shot out stronger than he had anticipated and it sprayed water on his chest and face after rebounding off the bottom, when he quickly fumbled for the sink lever. Burying his head into his own shoulder to get the water off his face, he made a silent prayer that Taylor hadn't seen him. Brett turned to face him and found himself within inches of Taylor's body.

"I was going to put this in the trash," Taylor said, holding the leftover rinds

"Oh, right," Brett said, circling Taylor so that they switched spots. Taylor opened the cupboard beneath the sink and tossed the rinds in a bin below it.

"How did you know that it was down there?", Brett inquired

"I figured if it wasn't out in the open," Taylor replied, turning to face Brett, merely a pace seperating them, "that most families put it under the sink."

"Clever," said Brett, feeling lightheaded from the flutter his heart was experiencing.

"I know," the smile on Taylor's face was a strange mix of innocence and devious. Brett couldn't quite put his finger on what made him so dashing, but it was like a million pieces came together to make his form perfect, "How can I repay you for this hospitality?"

"You don't have to do that, any decent person would've done it"

"Yeah, but, You were the one that did it," Taylor said, leaning towards Brett, "And I'm really lucky for that,"

Brett could feel Taylor's breath, his heart was doing some sort of movement in his chest that almost made him queasy, "Funny to think you're the lucky one,"

Taylor placed his hand on Brett's chest and traced his fingers down to his stomach. Brett moved his hand behind Taylor's head, feeling his coarse hair. Brett lifted his chin in unison with Taylor when the door slammed. Brett closed his eyes and laughed as he placed his forehead on Taylor's.

"Brett?", came a voice from the front room.

Blake rounded the corner, barely noticing what was going on, "Whoa! Oh god, Sorry." he exclaimed making what seemed like a blockade with his hands between him and Brett.

"It's fine," Brett said, stepping away from Taylor, "we weren't doing anything anyways. Sup?"

"I actually wanted to talk to Taylor"

Taylor cocked an eyebrow, "Me? Is something wrong? Did I overstay my welcome?"

"No, i's nothing like that," Blake said calmly, as he often did when he was processing something, "I think something's up with Bryce."

"What? Like what?"

"Bryce got upset with me when I was driving him to work, so much that he got out of the car,"

"No way," Brett interjected, "maybe he's still shaken from last night"

"I took that into consideration," Blake responded, "But he attacked me too"

Taylor looked concerned, "...What?"

Blake nodded, "Knocked me flat on my ass, I wouldn't have believed it myself."

After a brief pause Taylor spoke, "Please, don't press charges on him, he's just going through some stuff right now,"

"Like what?" Brett asked.

"...ok, but don't tell him I told you this, his Father passed away last week."

Brett covered his mouth in shock, Blake furrowed his brow in contemplation. Brett hated that sometimes, only because he couldn't collect himself like that. It was comforting most times, but for some particular reason it was irritating today.  "Will you take me to his work? I should be with him right now"

"Of course," Blake said, "You ready?"

Taylor nodded and turned to Brett, "Here's my number," he said, pulling a pen off the counter, "I expect you to use it"  Brett looked down at his hand, upon which Taylor was now jotting his phone number. After finishing the last digit, Taylor left with Blake and they started to walk down the main hallway to the porch. Brett watched them go down the stairs and get into Blake's car. As it sped off his mind wantered over to Bryce, unsure of what was to happen next. Turning to go back inside, his foot hit something on the ground. It was the newspaper, which he bent over to grab. As he stood, a flood of light filled his head.

_A young girl was running down an alley way. It was dark and she was being chased by a figure . As they reached the end of the alley, she turned around._

_"You don't have to do this," she said, with fear quivering her voice, "We can both just let this go and go home."_

_The figure laughed and proceeded to walk towards the girl. The girl, with her blonde hair flying now in the wind, raised her hands , palm out towards the figure, from which water seemed to appear endlessly. The figure raised it's hands, palms facing towards the sky. The water redirected itself to the girl, surrounding her.... drowning her.... slowly the life being choked out of her..._

Brett's eyes snapped open and he gasped for air, as if he had been the one that was drowning. When he came to his sense, he ran upstairs to get dressed. This is where having Blake around would be handy, to have a calm collected person to help him sort out whatever it is that's happening with him. As he stormed into his room, he ransacked his dressers and closet. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to do something about it.

The sight of it would've made anyone else laugh; clothes hanging off his body in weird angles, a belt that was flipped halfway through it's clasp, a sock hanging off his heel and his shirt buttoned improperly. Brett stopped to look in the mirror and collected himself by fixing all the loose ends of his outfit. Practically tripping himself, he bolted down the stairs into the kitchen to the key rack, where he got a pair of keys that had obviously been collecting dust. The only place there were alleys was downtown, he'd start there and text his brother on the way.


	4. Chapter 4

Bryce hated Saturdays, teenagers were some of the most obnoxious customers and he wasn't in the mood. At all. Bryce wasn't sure what made him so volatile and he didn't mean to attack Blake like he did but he just couldn't stand how pompous and self-righteous he sounded. Then there was the issue of what happened to his victim, he didn't even remember making contact with him yet he flew through the air like a rag doll. As Bryce weaved in and out of tables refilling coffees and waters, the vision of Blake propelled backwards seemed to keep replaying. A bell had rang in the back, which summoned him to retrieve an order for a table. After filling the table in front of him, he shifted in a half circle and headed back to the kitchen.

"This goes to table six," a pair of green eyes pierced him, "And there's people waiting to be seated when you're done."

"You know Tara," Bryce said with a smile, "If you didn't have me, you might go insane."

Tara cocked her eyebrow as she placed her crossed arms onto the bar that connected the kitchen to the main room, "Yeah, well now if you can just be on time, that'd be awesome."

Bryce placed the plates on his forearm and his palms. Across the restaurant didn't seem nearly as far now as it did the first day he started. He smiled to himself as he could remember dropping plates, spilling coffee and tripping over a table practically warranting a lawsuit from the people who occupied it. As he delivered the plates to the young teenage couple, he remembered a particularly bad day from a few months back when his father first got sick; the tray he was holding was tilted because he wasn't particularly paying attention. After he tried to compensate by tilting his wrist towards him, which caused the daily spaghetti special to cover him from head to toe. Any day that followed, he vowed to have an extra pair of clothes in his cubby at work.

When Bryce had taken care of his table he rounded towards the entrance. Bryce closed his eyes to wipe the sweat from his brow with his wrist, he had the cafe' etched into his brain. With his right hand, he grabbed two menus from a slot in the wall and looked over to the entrance. The sight of what stood there stopped him cold in his tracks.

Her smiled radiated the room and her long blonde hair was down, which she was pulling over her right shoulder, "...Hi"

Bryce raised his brow, "...Liz, hi..."

"Do you have a break coming up soon?"

"I, uh..." Bryce hesitated; he didn't need this today, "Liz, what do you want?"

The sentence seemed to slap her across the face, "...I wanted to talk about us. About what happened."

Bryce rolled his eyes and put a finger up in her direction. The pace at which he reached the pass was lightning quick, Tara already had a cynical look across her face.

"Save it," Bryce said, putting up the palm of his hand towards her, "I need to go on break"

Tara shook her head with a smirk, "That girl's going to ruin your life; take ten and come back, I'll have Dylan cover you, he just got here"

Bryce turned on his heel and went to the front where Elizabeth was standing. Motioning with his hand, she followed him to a closed off area of the restaurant. Bryce sat down first; back when they were dating he would always pull out the seat but he was past formalities. Elizabeth sat down across from him at the quaint table in the corner.

"So," Bryce said with an obvious tone of annoyance in his voice, "what did you want to talk about?"

Elizabeth was looking down at her hands, one of which was picking the cuticles of the other, "I heard about Joel... I'm sorry."

"Is that all?"

"Bryce, look," Elizabeth said, "I was scared, I was having issues when you came out and then that stuff with your Dad came up and I--"

Bryce shot her a nasty look, "That 'stuff'? What stuff would that be? The one where I had to prepare to bury him?"

"That's not what I meant," she said, dejected, "We were just going through a lot and I got scared."

"What the hell were you going through?"

"You knew I was having issues coming to terms with"

Bryce narrowed his eyes and held up his hand, "I liked men and women before I met you Elizabeth, I told you about Robby because I felt like I needed to be honest with you."

"I get that," Elizabeth said, defending herself, "I never stopped loving you, I just"

"You just what?"

"...I miss you."

"That's convenient, now that I don't have my father to deal with anymore, right?"

"Bryce, c'mon," she lamented, "You know that's not fair."

"What did you think was going to happen? You were going to apologize and everything was just going to be alright again?"

"No, but, I want to work it out"

Bryce rolled his eyes, and folded his arms across his chest defensively, "I have a lot of stuff going on right now."

"And I want to be there for you. I don't think we should throw out everything that we've built."

"Bryce!" Tara called from the other room, "We need you, hurry it up!"

"Will you call me?" Elizabeth asked, "please?"

Bryce breathed a heavy sigh, "We'll see, do you want something to eat before you go?"

Elizabeth could only shake her head, "I'll get going, I'll see you…"

Bryce got up and walked with Elizabeth towards the exit. Bryce turned on his heel and went back to the pass to serve his demanding customers.

* * *

Brett parked the vehicle along a curb and mindlessly placed some quarters in a metal block embedded in the cement. His legs walked on their own accord, though he wasn't sure where to begin. It was mid-afternoon, he'd have some time to find the girl in his vision as he could distinctly recall it not happening until sundown. But where? Downtown was fairly large and the epicenter of Carmel. It was difficult to pinpoint where the incident took place and even though the image flooded his head just an hour before the details and even the general images were fading from his mind. The only image that remained was that of the terrified girl.

Walking along one of the main arterials, Brett wracked his brain trying to figure out what he could to ease his search. He took the newspaper from his pocket and searched the names for a clue. There was so much to cover that it seemed impossible, until he flipped to the back page, a woman named Elizabeth Gonder.

"…That's her," he said to no one in particular. Without hesitation, he reached for his phone, "Hi, Carmel, California…"

The automatic voice on the other side was directing him through some database sure to be thousands of miles away, "Elizabeth Gonder"

A human picked up the receiver, "I have an Elizabeth Gonder, on Monte Verde and 4th"

"I'll take it, thank you."

The woman hung up and an automatic voice played back a number, which Brett quickly jotted on the newspaper. Brett walked back to his car and drove for the destination, unsure of what to find.

* * *

"He's a good guy, he's just never had an easy life, you know?"

Blake raised his eyebrow, not taking his eyebrow off the road. Of course he'd known people with a difficult life, he'd seen them all the time. It wasn't commonplace to see at least ten or fifteen kids who lost their way, get lost in the system. Who reacted just the way that Bryce had earlier. How he ended up halfway across the street he still couldn't quite figure out. The events replayed in his head over and over again and nothing seemed to make sense. To throw him that far Bryce would have to be the size of a small van, and while he had good tone and musculature he was nowhere near strong enough to toss Blake's hundred and eighty pound form halfway across the street.

"He's just lucky that he attacked me instead of someone else," Blake said, returning his companions comment, "I've seen a lot of people a lot worse off than him get a ton of time for much less than he did."

"Thank you," Taylor said, his short bushy hair not moving with the wind that flowed through the convertible, "When things calm down for him, I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"How do you guys know each other?"

"Me and Bryce? I knew him from high school, he dated a friend of mine and we became friends after we figured out that we had more in common."

"Like what?"

"Well, we're both kind of loners, we've had shitty relationships with our parents, if at all. And then we understood each other as we came out in high school."

Blake didn't flinch much to Taylor's surprise, "Have you guys…?"

"Me and Bryce? Oh lord, no, I mean there was a long time I really liked him, but it could never work out between us, you know?"

"Why not?"

Taylor chuckled, "That boy's got too many issues, not one of the biggest one being his ex-girlfriend."

"Is that the friend from high school you were talking about?"

"No," Taylor shook his head as Blake rounded a rather sharp turn, "Elizabeth came after that. It was when he started college. She got messed up in some shady stuff"

Blake raised his eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Bryce never told me," Taylor went on, "said that he would one day, when I would understand, but that I couldn't know yet."

"And that never struck you as odd?"

"Well, yeah, but Bryce has never really had it easy."

Blake's face twisted, "I don't necessarily think that gives him a right to withhold things from his best friend."

"You don't know us," Taylor said, with a tone that slapped Blake across the face, "I trust him, alright? He'll tell me when he's ready."

Blake rounded another turn, the car filling with a silence that seemed to encapsulate them. The term 'a deafening silence' didn't make so much sense as in the last few days with Blake's constantly insensitive tones. With Brett, with Bryce and now with Taylor, it bothered him how much he was just callously passing judgment.

The dashboard on his car flipped over, two o' clock. How the hell did the morning pass by so quickly? Bryce had been at work for almost three hours already. Luckily there were no cases on the weekend unless it was an emergency. Things seemed simpler when dealing with delinquents, there were rules set up in place that dictated how an offender should be treated. With relationships, friendships… those rules didn't apply, everyone seemed to be so touchy, so emotional. Blake liked rules, that much he knew for sure, but what happens when you can't apply rules to everyday situations? It was a lot to process but he brushed it off, now was not the time or place to delve into his own neurosis.

"Turn here," Taylor said pointing. It irritated Blake, he knew how to get to the café, but he let it roll off him.

* * *

Brett pulled away from the house with an irritated look on his face, not only was this girl not answering her phone, she wasn't home either. As he looked back to pull out of the driveway, he slowly put his foot on the gas and exited to the right. Now that the lead had run cold, he wasn't sure where else he could go. Driving mindlessly back to the city center he thought he would get out and just look for her on the main streets, it was still light out and his vision, from what he could remember, took place in the evening.

Brett came to a stoplight and pressed his foot on the brake. His head rested on his hand that was propped up by the car door. What was he doing? This was crazy; he was tracking down some girl he had never even met before, yet everything seemed to be pointing him in this direction. A car turned from the right and as though it was in slow motion, it drove past him and he saw the girl in his vision, her hair flying in the wind. Brett waited for his light and made a quick U-turn, following the tiny red BMW as it flew down the road. Brett already knew where it was going but he felt compelled to stay on her tail.

Brett pulled up on to the curb and ran up to driveway to meet the girl face to face. She was stunning, her long blonde hair flowed past her shoulders and her green eyes were stunning. Brett stood there looking at her when she turned to look him in the face, as if she was analyzing him in just the same way. Neither knew which to speak first but she circumvented that.

"Uh, hi, can I help you?" she inquired incredulously, clutching her purse closer to her.

"Hi, uhm, I'm Brett," he extended his hand, she did not meet him halfway, "I… uhm, can we talk?"

"I'm not interested in whatever you're selling."

Brett looked to the side with a note of disconcerted confusion on his face, "I don't really know how to say this, but I think you may be in danger."

The girl's eyes widened, "Uh, I don't know what Lorelai has said, but I'm working on it."

"Lorelai? Who's Lorelai?"

"You mean," she said, shaking her head, "Lorelai didn't send you, look, you need to get out of here."

"I can't explain it," Brett said, pushing everything from the bottom of his stomach, "but I think I'm supposed to help you."

The girl walked away in the middle of his sentence but Brett relented, "Wait, you're Elizabeth right?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, pulling her shoulders uptight, "How do you know my name if you don't work for Lorelai?"

"I've had a vision of you," Brett said, noticing how insane he sounded with each word that escaped his lips, "of someone killing you. Like you were being drowned."

Elizabeth walked back to face Brett, "C'mon, we should go somewhere."

Elizabeth took Brett's hand; a flash of light flooded his head.

"_Hey, what's wrong?"_

_Brett could see himself. Bushes obscured his eyesight but he could very clearly make out Elizabeth and himself standing there. Why was he standing there with his head to his chest? Elizabeth kept trying to wake him_

Brett came to, with Elizabeth tugging on his arm.

"Hey, are you ok?" she asked, unsure of what happened.

Brett looked around, "I had another vision. I think we're being watched…"

He narrowed his eyes towards the bushes he was sure someone was watching from, "Over there…"

"C'mon, kid, let's go, we need to go now, you're in danger," She said, tugging on his arm towards her car. As she did a beautiful woman emerged from the bushes Brett was just staring at. Something was off about her, her skin seemed almost ethereal and had a hue of blue tinting her skin. Brett jumped into the car, Elizabeth followed suit, fumbling for the keys to the ignition. The woman approached the car, extending her palm towards the car. Jets of water sprayed out of her palm shaking the car and denting the hood upon impact.

"What the hell is that thing?" Brett screamed, panicked.

"That's what you saw killing me, Fuck. Fuck these keys!" she screamed, finally finding the right one and placing it into the ignition. Effortlessly she turned the keys to the ignition, pulled out of the driveway in lightning speed and drove off. The mysterious woman stood in the driveway for just a moment before evaporating into thin air.

"What was that?" Brett shouted at Elizabeth as if she were across the street.

"Just shut up, I have to think. We have to go somewhere crowded."

"What? What are you talking about? Let me out, I'm in over my head."

"Look," Elizabeth said, slamming on the brakes, "If you get out now, you're as good as dead anyway. She saw you with me."

"Who saw me with you, what is she?"

"Later," she screamed, forcing her foot down on the gas, speeding off down the road.

* * *

The lunch rush had died down, finally, Bryce kept recalling the mantra he played in his head: 'I hate Saturday, I hate Saturday, I hate Saturday". There were still some stragglers, teenagers who couldn't find anything to do for the weekend. Bryce didn't mind the teenagers, they were loud sometimes but they were always polite. And patient. Lord were they patient. Bryce hated the older folks the most, they were impatient, stubborn, ridiculous orders and then to add the cherry to a shit filled cake, they tipped like they were living off of welfare. Bryce almost felt bad for thinking it but he'd rather just the younger crowd came in. They might not have tipped well, but at least they weren't impossible to deal with.

Tara gave him another order to take out to a table; though it had slowed down he was on his toes because he was serving and hosting. The plagues of working at a small establishment like this. Bryce bobbed in and out of the tables delicately handling his tray with ease. After delivering a few delicious looking plates he made he way to the front podium. A heavy sigh escaped his chest.

"What are you doing here?"

Taylor held up his hands, as if to surrender, "It's not my fault, he wanted to come here and make sure you were alright."

Bryce took notice of the taller man standing next to his friend. The strong jaw line he had was twisted into a frown, unsuitable for someone who was as attractive as him.

"Give me a sec, I have a ten coming up, I have to talk to you anyways"

Bryce went in the back and notified Tara he was talking his break. The look she gave him was saying 'You already took your break, but whatever'. Bryce knew he was bending the rules, but knew deep down that Tara could cover and that he worked his ass off his entire shift. Bryce grabbed a few cups and filled them with fountain soda before heading back to the foyer and guiding Blake and Taylor over to a table that was seated in front of a window that was still shining sunlight through into the room. Taylor sat next to Blake and they both sat across from Bryce.

"Look," Blake said, "I'm sorry about earlier."

Bryce interrupted him, "Look, no, I'm sorry. I'm going through some stuff right now, I didn't mean to attack you, I honestly didn't even think I had. I must not know my own strength."

"Yeah," Blake said with a smile, "You knocked me on my ass, I have no clue how that happened."

Bryce shook his head and looked down at his soda, "This week just keeps getting better and better."

"What did you want to talk about?" Taylor said, breaking the path Bryce was sure to go down.

"Oh," Bryce exclaimed, as if he had just discovered oil, "Guess who came in to see me?"

"Uh," Taylor paused for a step, "Joe DiMaggio?"

Bryce's face twisted into a confused look, "Who's Joe DiMaggio?"

"Well," Taylor laughed, "It wasn't him. Who was it?"

"Elizabeth," Bryce said, staring back at his soda, "I think she wants to get back together,"

"You're not thinking of doing it, are you?"

Blake interrupted, "It's not really my place, but, you have a lot on your plate right now, is dealing with an ex a good decision right now?"

Bryce frowned and there was a long pause, "No, but… I mean, after all this time…"

"Yeah, now that things have started to settle down," Taylor projected loudly, "Where was she when you needed her? That's bullshit."

"I know, but she still loves me."

At that moment, a loud obnoxious technologic noise came from Blake's direction. He turned a fierce red color as he fumbled around his pockets to find a small cell phone. As he answered it, he pointed a finger upwards as if to say 'just a moment' to his companions.

"Hey, what's up?" Blake said, coolly.

Bryce and Taylor both pretended like they weren't staring at him as his face turned from calmed to concerned.

"What? Wait, slow down, where are you?"

Bryce couldn't help himself, "What's wrong?"

Blake put up his palm in a futile attempt to silence Bryce, "What? What are you talking about? That doesn't make any sense…"

Blake got up and began fishing for his keys, "I'm coming to get you, stay there."

Blake bolted for the door with Bryce right behind him. Bryce reached for Blake's shoulder and turned him around, "What's going on?"

"Brett's in trouble, he thinks someone's trying to kill him."

Bryce would've laughed at the ridiculous statement Blake had made if the last week of his life hadn't been so off kilter, "Well, I'm coming with you."

"Bryce, that's not necessary, you have to work here and—"

Bryce cut him off, "Look, you and your brother came out of nowhere to help me, it's my turn to help you now. Just give me a second."

"But—"

"No buts, if you leave without me, I'm going to be pissed."

Bryce walked towards the back, undoing his apron in the process. As he reached the back, through the wide double doors, Tara was about to give him orders when she looked at him and noticed what was taking place.

"Oh no, no no no," she said, pointing her finger at Bryce, "You're not leaving me, no."

"Sorry, Gotta go," Bryce said, reaching over to hug Tara, "I'll owe you forever, promise."

As he let go, Tara swatted him with a big planner, and shoved him out of the way, "I swear to God, if you weren't such a good worker I'd have fired you."

Bryce walked back out the double doors, clocked out on the meter that was sealed to the wall and walked out the front door with Blake and Taylor. Without a word, they all got in the car, not sure of what awaited them but drove with one mind towards downtown.

* * *

"Who was that?" Elizabeth asked, getting out of the car

Brett shoved the phone in his pocket, "It was my brother, he might be able to help us."

Elizabeth noticeably rolled her eyes, "I doubt that, we're so fucked. C'mon."

Elizabeth and Brett walked down the crowded street. Brett wasn't sure which direction they were going but followed Elizabeth anyways. There was enough wacky shit going on today that Brett didn't question things anymore, he bit his lip and stayed on Elizabeth's heel.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, we just have to keep moving. And…"

The woman was standing mere feet in front of them, though Brett wasn't sure how. Elizabeth screamed, "Run! Brett, C'mon"

Brett's hand was taken by Elizabeth as they ran away from the being in the opposite direction. Brett still wasn't sure what it was but he knew it wasn't good news. The sunset was splashing dazzling colors across the skyline as Brett and Elizabeth rounded a turn down an alley. As they were running, Elizabeth pushed Brett into a pile of rubbish that lay on the side of the alley.

"Stay there, no matter what happens, stay there."

Elizabeth kept running to the end of the alleyway that was sealed off by a large fence, the being gliding towards her victim.

"You don't have to do this," Elizabeth said, with a sickening realization crawling over Brett's face, "We can both just let this go and go home."

The creature laughed at her, as Elizabeth raised her hands and placed her palms out; water began spewing from her hands. The creature raised her hands and redirected the water back towards Elizabeth.

"You foolish girl, you think your strength is enough to replicate my power?"

The cackling continued as Brett watched Elizabeth drowning in the water. Brett ran towards the creature with a brick in tow. Brett hurled it at the being.

"Hey!" he shouted, "Come and get me instead."

The pool of water surrounding Elizabeth collapsed and she fell to the ground choking. The creature turned around and locked eyes with Brett. At first her glance was angry, one could deem it evil. The next, her look was gentle, soothing. A tune escaped from somewhere, one that was beautiful.

"That's it? You try and drown her, but you only sing to me?"

The being frowned and extended her palms outwards to jet water towards Brett. He placed his arms in front of his face as fluid surrounded him; enveloped his lungs and what felt like down to his very soul. Brett couldn't breathe and he did everything he could to hold any oxygen he had left.

"Hey!" a voice shouted, sending the creature flying into the wall. Brett collapsed to the ground and turned to see Bryce and his brother coming down the alley.

"Go get the girl," Brett said, choking, as Bryce helped him to his feet. Blake went and grabbed Elizabeth, the creature getting up just as quickly as the boys were.

"I wasn't expecting you to bring them straight to me, good girl," the creature said in a voice that sent chills up Brett's spine.

The creature's eyes began to glow a dark blue and she began singing as she did before. Taylor, Blake and Bryce all stopped dead in their tracks. Brett stood there, watching everything happen as if it were in slow motion. Elizabeth looked Brett in the eyes, as she fell back to the ground. What was she trying to communicate? The boys started walking towards the woman as she forced her palms outward which sent water to all three of them, drowning them without a fight. There they stood, allowing the water to encompass them with no sense of fight from any of them.

Elizabeth finally gasped, "You're immune to her powers, break her trance over the boys so we can get out of here."

Brett wasn't sure what to do, so he rushed the being, pushing her into the brick wall, surprising her. The alley way was tight and she threw Brett off of her into the other wall. The other boys had broken free of their water prisons and had come to, seemingly broken from their trances. Brett got up, sputtering from the impact when the creature turned towards him.

"You," she said, drawn out, slowly, agonizingly, "shall be first."

Her palms faced in Brett's direction. The other boys reacted, watching the scenes as they unfurled before them.

Blake shouted, "No!"

His arms extended forward towards her. There she stood. Motionless. Everyone looked around. Taylor was motionless too. Elizabeth didn't hesitate.

"C'mon, we have to get out of here." She grabbed Brett by the wrist and ran back to the main street. As they ran out, Blake and Bryce followed suit, although unsure of everything that had happened. Elizabeth touched Taylor, snapping him out of his perpetual stalled motion and without question he followed suit. As the group reached the main road, they ran toward the car. Questions filled their head, but one answer did stand. Where they were heading next: Their home.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone filed in the door weathered and scared. Brett was still soaked and Elizabeth fared the same. Their minds were all racing yet no one could find a word to say. Everyone acted as one mind; Taylor helped Elizabeth to a couch in the foyer while Brett went and grabbed towels. Bryce followed Blake upstairs to the medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom where collectively they gathered gauze, antibiotic ointments, bandages and a host of other things they could manage to fit into their hands. Everyone convened in the foyer at the same time, taking seats that were distant from the others in the room.

Brett handed Elizabeth a towel before he took a seat with one of his own and as he began mussing the towel through his mussed and soaked hair he could see Bryce helping Elizabeth with an abrasion on her leg.

"Ok," Blake said, finally, "So what just happened exactly?"

"We need to call the police," Taylor said

"No," Elizabeth spoke at last, as she ran a towel through her hair, "We can't, she'll kill anyone that gets involved."

"But how?" Bryce said, "What was she doing?"

Elizabeth looked at Bryce, her eyes began to fill with tears, "Look, all you need to know is that you're all in danger."

"What did you do," Bryce inquired, with a tone in his voice that demanded answers, "Elizabeth, what's going on?"

"…We should get your whitelighter,"

Everyone in the room looked around in confusion, Blake spoke, "Our what?"

Elizabeth stopped drying her hair, "You don't know what a whitelighter is? But you guys are witches, right?"

Brett chuckled, "What? You must be off your rocker, lady"

"Hey," Bryce said, furrowing his eyebrow, "Don't talk to her like that."

"I'll talk to her however damned well I please," Brett shot back.

"Excuse me? You want to say that again?" Bryce said getting up, Taylor got up just as quickly and put a hand on Bryce's chest, halting him from progressing.

"I think since we almost just died back there, we deserve to know what's going on."

"Even if I could," Elizabeth said, "There's nothing you can do about it, Lorelai's a very powerful demon."

"Lorelai?" Brett said, recalling the name, "Demon? What?"

Elizabeth looked around the room unsure of her surroundings. None of it made sense in her mind. They all have powers, even Bryce… she knew everyone around her had powers because she could feel them. If she needed to channel them, it could help battle Lorelai, but it'd be easier if they could fight her on their own.

"How long have you guys had your powers?"

Brett laughed, "What are you talking about? We're not witches, we don't have powers."

"Brett had his first vision a few weeks ago," Blake said at last, "And he's had a few since then."

Brett looked over at his brother, "You… don't believe this do you?"

Bryce finally sat down, "What do you mean we're witches? I don't have a power."

"I think you do," Blake said, "I mean, you tossed me halfway across the street Bryce… and then today when you helped us out, that…

Blake paused and looked at Elizabeth, as if he were saying a word from a different language, "Demon… that demon flew into the wall. You saved my brother's life."

"And you," Elizabeth spoke up, "can freeze time. It's a rare gift, thought to only exist in one family's bloodline ever. You're very fortunate to have it."

"Is that what happened in the alley," Taylor finally spoke up, sitting down with the realization that things, no matter how strange they sounded, were starting to make sense, "When all of a sudden you guys were in different spots? You froze me?"

"But, why didn't we freeze?" Brett asked

Elizabeth sighed. This didn't make any sense, if they were witches, especially those new to the craft, why weren't they being guided?

"Because you're all good witches," Taylor spoke up, "good witches won't be affected by Blake's power."

Everyone turned to Taylor surprised and confused, Bryce looked over at his friend, "How…"

"There's a lot to explain, but for now, know that I'm here to help you. Elizabeth, you're the only person I can trust with this right now, will you watch over them?"

As if Elizabeth and Taylor had known what was going to happen all along, Elizabeth nodded and with that Taylor dissolved in a beautiful blue light and disappeared. The boys all widened their eyes and looked each other, confused… Bryce had a twinge of pain in his eyes.

"So, that would explain why I sensed he had powers. I wondered when he would reveal himself."

"What the hell was that?" Brett said

Bryce didn't stay for the answer; he got up and slammed the door as he exited the house. Elizabeth quickly followed after him and ran down the stairs to close the gap that he was forming between them.

* * *

Blake and Brett stayed in the foyer, unsure of what happened, unable to calculate it's meaning… its importance. On one hand, if she was telling the truth about all of this there was a demon, whatever that was, trying to kill them. They had powers to defend themselves but they had no clue how to utilize them and what was more frustrating was now they split up. Blake was sitting there staring blankly out the window while Brett paced nervously back and forth.

"I wonder if this is why Mom hasn't been home," Brett said aloud, to no one in particular.

Blake didn't stop peering out the window, "Maybe. She might not even know."

Brett paused a step before saying, "Well, Elizabeth said your power is in a special family right? That would mean it has to be passed down, doesn't it?"

"I don't know," Blake lamented, finally getting up from his chair, "I thought I almost lost you today. I need you to stay close to me until we get this figured out."

"I can take care of myse—"

"Brett, I can't lose you," Blake said, wrapping his arms around his brother tightly, "You're all I have left."

"Hey, hey," Brett said, in a comforting tone, "I'm right here, you're not going to lose me."

They stood there, hugging for a moment longer. Sometimes big brothers needed support too.

* * *

"Bryce, Bryce," Elizabeth said running up to him and grabbing his arm, "Hey, wait."

"You knew I had powers, didn't you?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she paused, "…yes, I did."

"How long have you known?"

"Since I met you."

Bryce turned on his heel before she could explain herself and started walking again. Elizabeth followed him, walking by his side without saying a word.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you didn't say anything to me. There's a magical law that says our secret must remain with the magical community," Elizabeth went on, "Terrible things happen when mortals find out. I couldn't be sure you were a witch or some other good creature. You could've been evil. I can't channel a power until I see it."

"So," Bryce said, looking down at the cement, "You're a witch then?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"And I am too."

Elizabeth nodded again.

"Why haven't I known until now?"

"I'm not sure," she said, "It looks like Taylor's your whitelighter, so the powers that be knew."

"What is a whitelighter, you keep saying it but I've never heard of it?"

Elizabeth laughed, "They're sort of like a guardian angel for witches."

"And if Taylor knew that I was a witch, why didn't he say something?"

"I'm not sure, there's some things that aren't adding up," she said

"So, if I had one, how come the other brothers didn't?"

"That's another thing that isn't making sense, we should head back to the house, we're in danger out here."

* * *

"I wonder if they're alright." Brett said, now in the kitchen with his brother. They hadn't had anything to eat all day and the action. Blake was cooking a huge portion of stir-fry and rice while Brett was taking small pieces out and eating them.

"I don't know how I feel with that Lorelai thing after us,"

Brett said, "Well, we'll get it figured out. I don't know why, but I trust Bryce."

"Do you?"

"Yeah," Brett said, "I mean, he obviously has some issues, but he's never given me a reason not to trust him."

Blake flipped some vegetables and noodles as he continued, "And this Elizabeth girl?"

"I'm not sure, but I had a vision of her and I followed my instinct."

A bright light filled the room, Brett and Blake turned around to see two figures emerge from the beautiful light that was reaching into every corner of the kitchen. Taylor stood there but next to him was a stunning looking girl. There was layered black hair flowing past her shoulders. Her grayish green colored eyes were piercing and gorgeous. When she smiled at them, her beautiful teeth radiated one of comfort and kindness.

Brett smiled and walked over to Taylor, unfazed by him and his companion randomly appearing. All Brett could find himself doing was wrapping his arms around Taylor's neck. They stood there for a second, awkward but filled with emotion.

"I'm glad you're alright."

Taylor laughed as they separated, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, where did you go when you left like that?"

"I went to go speak with the Elders, they're a group of angels who watch over whitelighters and give us advice about situations like this."

Blake turned around after turning off the gas to the stove, "What are whitelighters?"

"They're like a guardian angel, for witches," said a voice in the other room. Everyone looked to the doorway and saw familiar faces walk through it. There was a moment of quiet reflection; everyone was taking in the sight of each other.

"I'm sorry, I had to take a second," Bryce said.

Everyone smiled, Blake looked over, "It's ok, and I think this day has been intense for all of us."

Bryce looked over at Taylor, a pain stirring at his heart, when he looked at Taylor's companion, "Who's the girl?"

"Hi," she finally said, stepping forward, "I think it's time for us to get down to business."

"Oh," Taylor said, looking at his companion, "I'm sorry guys, ok, everyone, this is Prue."

Prue smiled at the boys as Taylor continued to introduce everyone, "This is Brett, Bryce and Blake. And she's Elizabeth."

Prue smiled, "I guess you three are my charges, we need to talk about this demon"

"Our what?" Brett said

"A charge," Taylor said, "is what whitelighters call the people they look after."

"Wow, you guys really have no clue," Prue said, "about anything magical? "

"We don't really get a manual about this stuff, y'know? This is new to all of us." Brett said meekly.

"That's the thing," Elizabeth chimed in, "You have a whitelighter now, but you should have a book of shadows too."

"A what?" Blake said, raising his eyebrow.

"It's a magical tome," Prue said, "It's passed down through families and has extensive knowledge of your family and demons."

Blake shook his head, "We've never had anything like that in our house."

Taylor looked at Prue, "I doubt that, but we have other things to worry about."

"Like why this demon is after you," said Prue, "does he have any reason to go after you? Other than your power?"

Elizabeth sighed. After looking at Taylor she walked over to the doorframe and leaned against it. The entire room was looking at her and she was compelled to speak after all the eyes pierced her.

"I offered up Bryce to Lorelai."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Fruition

Dark light was pulsing from a gristly pair of hands… dirty, worn from age and damage. The wound on the women's thigh sealed and cleaned itself of the blood that was pouring from it.

"You were reckless, who knows what would've happened if they were female witches."

The demon fixed her gaze upon the man, "I don't understand, I've been tempting men for centuries. Why didn't it work against that brat?"

"I have a theory," his features were chiseled yet emanating with something terrible.

The demon raised her head, letting her twisted locks fall down her face, "And what would that be?"

"I'm surprised, Lorelai," he said, "Why, other than a protection spell, would a man be able to resist you?"

"Are you suggesting," Lorelai inquired, "that little witch doesn't like women?"

"It wouldn't be the first time a man has resisted your charms"

"Yes," she continued, "but it's never been a witch before. This could ruin everything."

The man stood up and walked around, "Maybe not. The witch you made a deal with has obviously betrayed us."

"She'll be mine in no time," she said, "and so will her little friend."

"Think bigger, Lorelai, we both know what that boy did."

"What do you have in mind, Merick?"

"They're new to the craft, otherwise you would've been vanquished."

"I know that, what are you getting at?"

Merick healed the last part of her wound, "The magic window, we can turn them"

"Of course," she said, as if struck by lightning, "They haven't chosen a side."

The man walked from her over to a table littered with blades and vials, he picked up one of the blades and twisted it delicately in his hands, "The boy, the one that resisted you, if you use your powers in other ways, maybe we can turn all of them."

"And if I have all their powers…"

"You… and me, will be the new force in the underworld."

* * *

It was audibly silent in the room. Tears were streaming down Elizabeth's face and everyone's look was fixated on her.

"Bryce," she struggled, each word that escaped her lips riddled with regret, "I'm sorry."

Prue held up her hand, "O-okay, we can worry about feelings later. Right now we have a demon after the boys."

"Right," Taylor said, "Prue is right, she's powerful. We have to find a way to vanquish her."

"What did you promise her?" Prue asked, with her fist in the palm of her other hand.

"Well," Elizabeth said, between heavy breaths, "I knew Bryce was magical, though I didn't know what kind… At the time, Lorelai was after my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Bryce asked, as he narrowed his eyes.

"Go on," Prue interrupted, stopping the argument that was about to take place.

Elizabeth looked at Bryce with eyes that only poured sadness, "I had ran into Bryce just earlier that day and though I sensed he was magical, I didn't think anything of it when…"

"Is that why you called me back so quickly?"

"…Yes," she hesitated, "Look, Bryce,"

"Save it," he said, holding up his hand, "So, then what?"

"Lorelai decided she'd hold my boyfriend until I delivered you in exchange."

"So, why did you let it go so long?" Taylor asked, "if you were just going to steal his powers?"

"Because, I couldn't." she said, "Every time I started making the power stripping potion…"

"Power stripping?" Brett asked, barely keeping up with the conversation. When he looked at Blake, it seemed he was just as lost.

"It would," Elizabeth said, looking from Bryce for the first time, to Brett, "Essentially take away his powers. The way I made it, I could bottle it in a vial and exchange it for my boyfriend."

Prue narrowed her eyes, "Ok, so, why didn't you vanquish her?"

"You don't think if I could, I would've?" Elizabeth countered angrily, "She's too powerful for me."

"So," Blake interrupted, looking at Prue, "Where do we come in? Or you for that matter?"

"Heh," Prue chuckled without any sincerity, "Well, I can't tell you much, but I can tell you the elders sent me here to be your whitelighter."

"Wait," Taylor said, looking at Prue, "I'm Bryce's whitelighter."

"Well, you've been re-assigned."

"To whom?" Taylor asked, noticeably upset.

Prue pointed to the beautiful girl in the corner, Elizabeth spoke, "Me? I have a whitelighter."

Taylor spoke up, "No, you don't. The Elders think that Lorelai chose now to cash in on her bargain with you."

"Because your whitelighter was killed a few days ago, by a darklighter." said Prue, unforgiving, with no emotion.

Taylor sighed, "The same darklighter, they think, that is watching over Lorelai"

"Wait," Brett interjected, "The bad guys have guardian angels too?"

Prue smiled, "Yes, they do, except unlike us, they can harm anyone with whitelighter blood."

"I know there's a lot we don't know," Blake said, "But what I do know, is that demon is still after us."

"Right" Prue animatedly pointed, "Which is why we need to find your guys' Book of Shadows. And you… take Elizabeth and orb with her around the state. Lorelai shouldn't be able to find her that way."

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "I can help with what needs to be done."

"I think you've done enough." Bryce uttered beneath his breath. Elizabeth reacted as if she had been shot. The pain that pulsed through her blood was agonizing.

Taylor looked at Bryce first and then over at Elizabeth, "We should go. C'mon."

Elizabeth didn't say anything as she stood and took her place next to her whitelighter. A sense of dread filled Brett's heart from across the room. What he felt for Taylor was coming to an end right before his eyes. As Taylor took Elizabeth's hand, Brett knew he'd never see him again.

"I don't know why," Elizabeth said, fighting through her tears, "But Brett's immune to her power. Use that to your advantage."

"Are you ready?" Taylor asked

"Bryce," she said, letting go of Taylor's hand, "I know you won't believe me, but I eventually did fall in love with you."

Elizabeth walked over to where Bryce was sitting, "I broke up with you, so I didn't rob you of your power."

Elizabeth leaned over; Bryce was looking up at her. As she came close to his face, he turned his head. The dejection washed through her blood once more and she turned on her heel towards Taylor again.

Elizabeth took Taylor's hand and as the blue light colored the room a few last words escaped her lips, "I love you."

The room seemed vastly larger without Elizabeth and Taylor. Blake and Brett were looking over at Bryce. The solemn look across his face was indicative of the pain he was feeling in his gut.

"I wish there was more time," Prue said with a commanding tone, "but that demon is still out there and she's going to try and kill you."

"I'm sorry that I got you guys involved in this," Bryce said at last.

"Hey," Brett countered, "We got ourselves involved in this. We're not going to let you handle this on your own."

"But how do we defeat this demon?" Blake said, looking at Prue.

"There's a book of shadows in every magical family," she repeated, "but as it sounds, it doesn't look like you know where yours is."

"My father didn't have one," Bryce said, "I handled all his personal stuff and didn't see anything remotely magical."

"So," Prue said, "That must mean it's here."

"I've never seen anything like that here." Brett answered

Prue made animated hand gestures as she responded, "Well, no, you wouldn't. Your mother obviously kept this a secret from you so she probably hid the book."

"Let's split up and look then," Blake said, flatly. As if the answer had been staring them all in the face.

"I'll look upstairs. Check Mom's room and bathroom" Brett said, getting to his feet.

"Then I'll check the bookshelves in the study, you guys check down here." Blake dictated.

Without another word, the group split up into the different areas of the house. Bryce walked along to the kitchen, where there were a few bookshelves. From what he could tell they were all cookbooks and looking in the cupboards made him feel foolish. As he continued to look around the pangs of Elizabeth still burned in his heart. It was true that he loved her and there was some level of his being believed her. This day… no this month had not turned out as he had planned.

Bryce had opened all the cabinets with no sign of magical tomes. God, what was he thinking? Magic. It really existed. He was actually magical with actual powers. The thoughts resonated through him like it was advanced physics. It sounded so foreign and complex but the evidence of the day had only translated it in his mind. Bryce rounded the corner and went into the bathroom.

Bryce shut the door and turned on the faucet. As the water warmed, he bent over and splashed some on his face. As he stood back up he patted himself with a hand towel, when he opened his eyes Lorelai was standing behind him. Bryce quickly snapped his body around and waved his hand. A veil of water came between them and the force was blocked from sending her into a wall. Immediately, a melody was coming from all corners of the room and Bryce found himself paralyzed.

"What are you doing to me?"

Lorelai smiled, "Nothing yet, I just need to use you right now."

Worry crossed Bryce's face as she continued, "See, your powers are all connected. If I cast a spell using your abilities, I can make that doll faced boy susceptible to my powers. And then, I'll have you all under my own power."

"I will never help you."

"Silly boy," she said, between song, "You don't have a choice."

As she walked up to him, she grabbed his hand. Lorelai lightly traced her fingers across Bryce's gentle face. He could not scream, he could not move. As she leaned in and kissed him, the only thought that filled him was wishing the brothers would come to his aid.

Brett's mind flashed to the scene. It was playing so vividly that when his mind flashed open the image was still burning in his head, "BLAKE, PRUE! GET BRYCE!"

Brett was running down the stairs with Blake following on his heel, "What? What happened?"

"The demon is in the bathroom with him"

They both rounded the corner, Prue ran in from another room. All of them were pounding on the door shouting Bryce's name.

Lorelai continued humming through the screaming, stopping to stare directly in Bryce's eyes, "This won't hurt, at least for now."

"We have to get in there!" Prue shouted

"Prue, stand back, Brett on three."

Still holding his hand, Lorelai spoke,

A vision now that I would seek

To turn a man so mild and meek

These three shall now heed my call

To be susceptible so they may fall.

Blake and Brett lunged at the door, but Brett fell in mid stride. The force of Blake's kick knocked the door open just in time to see Bryce and Lorelai disintegrate into a viel of water and disappear.


End file.
